Mandatory real-time reporting of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance contributions for certain benefits in kind (BiKs) and taxable expenses will now be phased in from 6 April 2027.
Following the publication of this interim guidance and legislation, HMRC has been engaging with industry experts to gather feedback ahead of 6 April 2027.
Following feedback gathered from stakeholders, mandatory real-time reporting of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance contributions for certain benefits in kind (BiKs) and taxable expenses will now be phased in. Phase 1 will commence from 6 April 2027 and phase 2 will commence from 6 April 2028. This will support a smoother transition for businesses.
From 6 April, mandatory payrolling of BiKs will be phased in as part of phase 1 for:
- company cars
- car fuel
- vans
- van fuel
- employer-provided medical benefits
HMRC will provide draft data item guidance in the coming weeks, reflecting the removal of 94 real time information (RTI) data fields for BiKs.
The technical specifications for developers will be updated to align with the revised data requirements from April 2027. Alongside further technical detail, we will update the annex to this document to indicate which fields will be removed.
Following the update to this guidance, we will continue to work with stakeholders and industry experts to resolve outstanding issues, including the potential to introduce voluntary Class 1A reporting for non-mandated benefits, throughout summer 2026.
As part of phase 2, the mandatory payrolling of most other BiKs will be introduced from April 2028. This excludes loans and accommodation which will remain voluntary.
Ahead of phase 2, HMRC will continue to work closely with the software developer community on an approach to RTI specifications, which will be due to be published as part of the 2027 RTI technical specification publication cycle.